Nor Iron Bars a Cage
by MoshPit
Summary: After ten years of sepperation the ronins are reunited. However, a run-in with some nasty characters ends with two men dead and a ronin on death row. Is there anything his friends can do to help? Completed
1. Reunion

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

By Puck

Disclaimer: What's the point of a disclaimer if everyone already knows I don't own the Ronins?

Ryo walked lightly down the street, his unruly bangs shielding the sun from his eyes. Though he expressed no emotions, inside he was doing the Mexican Hat Dance with a smile that could've be seen from Pluto. He was going to see them again. After ten years the Ronins would be reunited.

Ryo thought back to the last time they were all really together. It was after they had defeated Talpa that final time. After that, they had their own lives to go on with. Sure, they saw each other in school, but Rowan and Cye (Cye being one year older and Rowan having skipped a grade) were on the other side of the building completely, and were rarely ever seen.

After high school came collage. Cye had studied marine biology at the University of Oahu in Hawai'i. From what Ryo had heard, Cye had finished school and was currently living in the Philippians. 

Sage had also gone to the states. He had gone to a university in Iowa and was currently living there as a schoolteacher with his wife and two children. According to the slightly rumpled picture in Ryo's wallet, depicting the once stolid Sage of Halo with a big goofy grin on his face, it was the best thing to have ever happened to him.

Rowan had been offered an academic scholarship to the best law school in England, and had gone there to study. Ryo received the occasional e-mail from his friend and nothing more.

Kento was a different story altogether. He had tried collage, dropped out his first year, and worked as a caterer until he had saved up enough money to live with his grandmother in China. Ryo had heard rumors that Kento had returned to Japan last year, but he didn't know if they were true. 

Ryo himself had gone to collage in Japan. He was now a veterinarian for the Toyoma Zoo. As for Mia and Yuli, he didn't hear much from them anymore. Yuli just didn't have the time, and after a big disagreement, he and Mia were not on speaking terms.

Ryo sighed and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. After high school, long hair just wasn't 'cool' anymore, so he had cut it short, the way Kento's hair used to be. Still, nothing in Heaven, Hell, or purgatory was going to make him give up his bangs. 

Ryo stopped. He was there. The five of them had agreed to meet in a park next to their victory site. Ryo looked around. The only other person there was a slim man with in a well-pressed suit and glasses stretched out on a bench. A briefcase was at his feet. Assuming he was the first to arrive, Ryo approached the bench and sat down next to the man. 

"Hi."

"Hello," the man replied with a slight English accent, not bothering to look at him. Ryo though for a moment that the man might have been Cye, but assumed that living in the Philippines may have affected his accent. Besides, Cye had brown hair, and this man had black hair that was buzzed short.

Rather that attempt to continue a conversation with the man, Ryo glanced at his watch. He prayed that at least one of his friends showed up. His prayers were answered when a familiar blonde head came bobbing into view. Both men on the bench rose quickly.

"Sage!" they yelled at the same time. Ryo and the man looked at each other closely.

"Ryo?"

"Cye?"

"No, I'm Rowan."

"Rowan?!?" 

"I believe I just said that."

"You dyed your hair!"

"Really?" Rowan's hand flew up to his head. "Huh, I s'pose I did." Both men looked towards Sage and saw that he had broken into a sprint upon seeing his friends. The blonde former Ronin swept Ryo up in a big bear hug and flashed the former Ronin of the Wildfire a big toothy grin.

"It's so good to see you again, Ryo!" Sage exclaimed, nearly squeezing the life out of his friend. "And you," he started, turning to the now black haired Rowan, "I'm sorry. I don't think I know you." Rowan sniggered and punched Sage lightly on the arm.

"America may have improved your personality, but it's done nothing for your memory. Go on and guess."

"Cye?" Sage ventured. Rowan nodded his head slightly.

"Yes, I can see where you might think that, but no." Sage furrowed his brow and leaned back a bit.

"Kento?" he suggested, sounding a bit unsure of himself. 

"Surely you jest," Rowan guffawed, looking over the rim of his glasses. Sage grinned widely and threw his arms around Rowan, squeezing tight. 

"England sure left it's mark on you!" Rowan disentangled himself from Sage's arms, gasping for air. He pointed an accusing finger at Sage's head.

"I'm not the only one. How much do you save on hair care products?" Sure enough, Sage's once gravity defying hairstyle was trimmed back far enough to reveal his warm violet eyes. An offending lock of blonde fell on Sage's nose as he swept his hand through his hair.

"Yeah," he muttered, almost embarrassed. "Juliana thought it made me look funny, and after one of Robert's friends called me "Mrs. Rob's Mom", I caved and got it cut. What do you think?" Sage made a suggestive motion, and strutted down the sidewalk. Ryo laughed heartily and pushed his blonde friend just enough so that he stumbled over his own feet.

"Sage," Rowan began, "You were made for Chippendale's. What on God's green earth possessed you to become a teacher?" Sage picked himself up off the pavement with an "I meant to do that" attitude.

"Needed a job. I started working at a day care, and just fell in love with the kids. It just seemed right."

"Fair enough. What about these kids of yours?"

"Actually, Caryn, the elder of the two, she's from Juliana's first marriage, and we adopted Robby because… Holy Spamonies! Look who's coming!" Sage pointed down the walk, while Rowan and Ryo gave him a look that clearly said, "What the hell is a spamonie?" Sage gave them a look back that said clearly, "When you have children, you will do the exact same thing".

After some more serious look giving, Ryo turned his head in the direction Sage was still conveniently pointing. A cry of joy came leaping up his throat at the sight of Cye and Kento, the last of their group. The smaller of the two former ronins hurried forward, arms flailing, while the larger merely quickened his pace.

Since Sage was the first of the three Cye came to, he was the first to get a hug. There were tears of happiness making their way down the young man's cheeks as he moved on to Ryo. Of the four of them, Cye had changed the least in appearance. Yes, his skin was a little darker and his hair was a little shorter, but Ryo at least knew that it was the real Cye this time.

"I can't believe it's been ten years. It feels like twenty." Rowan smiled as he shook Kento's hand. The burly ronin smiled, a kind of grim, forced smile that Rowan would have noticed under closer inspection.

"Well," Sage pronounced loudly, hands on his hips. "I don't know about the rest of you, but all this happy is making me hungry. Anyone care for some lunch?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After about a half an hour of becoming re-aquatinted with the area, the group of young men finally settled on an inexpensive fast food restaurant. Even though the group had chosen to sit at a table in a far corner, they were so rambunctious that people across the street could have heard snippets of their conversations, had the door been open.

"So I first arrived in Liverpool. I swear, some of those people should come equipped with sub-titles."

"A word of advice: When in America, don't eat at any Japanese restaurant if the cook looks like his family has lived in the America's all of their lives."

"Then she said, 'The problem with your good side and your bad side is that they will fight each other until you die. This proves quite the problem when you are immortal.'"

"Sage! Stop that, people are staring!" Sage pouted, sat the stool and it's occupant back down on the floor, and hopped off the table.

"It's not _my_ fault these people have no sense of humor." Cye snickered as he tried to pry open the plastic lid to his half-finished drink. A loud thump on the window next to him caused the lid to come off and half of what was left to spill on him. 

The five former ronins looked to the window. Two young men, dressed in a disturbing array of black clothes, were standing outside. The taller of the two had his fist pressed up against the glass. Ryo noted that both young men had blood red bands tied to their arms with the words "death, destroy, deliver" crudely sewn on.

The taller man thumped the glass again while the smaller started making symbols with his fingers. One. Two. Zero, Zero. The young man pointed a finger at no one in particular, then drew his finger across his neck in a slicing motion.

The message seemed cryptic, but it made sense to the receiver. The man whom they were trying to reach nodded discreetly, and the two dark young men left the window.

There was a moment of silence while the five of them tried to take in what they just saw. Sage sniffed and looked at his watch.

"Gee, guys, I'd like to stay longer, but I promised my kids I'd call them before they went to bed, and what with the time change and all…" Kento stood up and stretched his arms behind him.

"Yeah, I'd better be going, too."

"Same here," said Cye. "Same time tomorrow then?" Ryo nodded. The three of them stood and squeezed out of their table, leaving Rowan and Ryo behind.

"What, do you not have to leave?" Ryo asked.

"Not anytime soon."

"That's good."

"How are things with Mia and Yulie?"

"Wouldn't know," Ryo mumbled, unpleasant memories floating back to him.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry."

"No problem. What are you doing tonight?"

"Business."

"Here? What kind of business could you possibly do here?"

"The personal kind. I have places to go, people to see, things to do." Ryo knew that 'people' probably consisted of Mia and Yulie, while 'places' was probably Mia's summerhouse where they all stayed much longer than they needed to. As for 'things', well, even obvious Rowan had his secrets.

Rowan looked around. He stood suddenly, banding his knee on the table as he did.

"Well, Ryo, I'd love to stay, I really would. But you know how time is so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" With that, the former Rowan of Strata ran out of the restaurant. Ryo looked up just in time to see a waitress slap a bill down on the table. Ryo looked at the bill, and his eyes grew wide. Rowan could hear his death threats all the way down the street.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~ This is the part of the job I hate ~ he thought as he plodded down the dark street to an empty warehouse. If only they hadn't been so conspicuous, banging on windows and such. He knew what to do, where to go, what to bring. His hand slid into his holster as he check to see if his pistol was still there. He had lost it last time. Almost killed himself.

He raised his eyes and saw his two partners, Maehashi and Tamakia, waiting for him. He clucked his tongue as he approached them.

"I'm not stupid, you know," he said.

"Yeah," said Maehashi, "But you haven't been here in so long, we thought you may have forgotten."

"Forget? This is the only job I have ever had. How could I forget?"

"You tell us," retorted Tamakia. He sighed.

"I explained it to you a million times. I couldn't do the bank because I was on a plane. It's rather hard to rob a bank when you are Twenty-five thousand feet in the air." Tamakia gave him a disapproving look. 

"Do you have your weapon?" He patted his coat pocket. "Then let us duel."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Two more murders have been reported on the east side of Toyoma…" Ryo's television blared. "One of the victims was reported to have had multiple stab wounds in the back, while the other received a shot to the head."

"Ryo sighed as he pulled on his shirt. Surely people are bright enough not to run into a knife, but it takes a real idiot to do it more than once.

That was one of the things few people got about Ryo. He had such a light take on murder and death. It wasn't that he thought they didn't happen, but Ryo knew a lot of people in Toyoma, and didn't want to think that one of his friends was a murderer.

"Police found little evidence at the crime scene. What they did find was this arm band, the telltale symbol of the gang that refers to themselves as the Deliverers. Only one witness to the crime has been found, and has given all information on the murders he could. I you have seen this man, or any man matching this description-" Ryo changed the channel. He just didn't want to know.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hello, friends!" Sage called cheerily to the other ronins. They were in the park again today. It was so nice out, Cye opted for a picnic, and no one objected. Ryo and Rowan sat discussing business, Cye was setting out food, and Kento was watching hungrily.

"It's been forever and a day since I've had some of your good cooking, Cye." The former warrior of trust smiled.

"I miss not having anyone to cook for." There was a screech of tires, and all five ronins looked up to see three policemen heading their way. Ryo heard some one curse quietly.

"Kento Rei Faun?" one of the approaching officers asked.

"That's me."

"You are under arrest for the voluntary murder of Tamakia and Maehashi Nakomi. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you do not have a lawyer, one will be provided for you…"

To Be Continued…eventually. 


	2. Confesions

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

By MoshPit

Rating: PG-13

Distribution: If you like it take it, just tell me first.

Warning:Will be seedy eventually.(Seedy is our word for Character Death, in case you were wondering.)

A choked sob echoed off the unusually bright walls of the prison waiting room.Vacancy issues had prevented Kento from being kept in the Tokyo prison, so the police force had to settle for a small time prison in what could be considered the middle of nowhere.

Sage leaned his head against a wall and sighed.The place was so much like a hospital waiting room it was unnerving.The walls were painted a cheery yellow, and there was even a small canister of suckers on the receptionist's desk.

"I hate hospitals," he hissed under his breath as he watched Ryo try to slam his fist through the wall again.None of them really expected anything like this, not from Kento.Yes, he was a little aggressive at times, but murder?It was a great shock to all of them.Cye went catatonic, and had to be dragged inside.Kento was supposedly talking to him now, but Sage didn't know if Cye was talking back.

Three heads turned to the doorway as a rather frumpy woman in her mid-thirties entered, followed by a disturbing young man who looked no older than sixteen.Rowan flinched inwardly."Mia's really let herself go," he thought, looking his once attractive friend over.The woman in question had cut her hair short, and had apparently tried to dye it blond.She had heavy bags under her eyes and at least five piercings in one ear.Her eyes were rimmed red, either from crying, drinking, or a combination of the two.

Yulie too looked very…wrong.Just wrong.He had shaved his head and put and earring through just about every available part of his face.His clothes were black, as were most of his teeth.The most disturbing part of his look though, was a swastika drawn over his left eye.

Three pairs of eyes watched what used to be an innocent young boy cross the room and sit in an empty seat and begin to pull the earrings from his eyebrows and ears.The air got a little lighter.

"Sorry about the look," he apologized, "but Mia came and took me out of school in the middle of theatre, so I didn't have time to change."He smiled apologetically as he tried to rub the offending symbol off his eye.

Mia leaned against a wall and ran her tongue over her heavily painted lips.

"Well, this is depressing," she snorted, motioning to the canary yellow walls before fishing into her purse.She pulled out a slim cigarette, lit it, and stared at it before letting her hand dangle loosely at her side.An uneasy silence made the already thick air unbreathable.

A door next to Rowan opened slowly and Cye stumbled out.His breathing was erratic and his lower lip trembled profusely.The former warrior of trust made his way to a corner where he collapsed and threw up.A surly looking guard appeared in the doorway.

"Rowan Hashuba?" he growled and jerked his thumb behind him.Rowan didn't bother to correct the guard as he followed him down the hall.

Kento sat at a table in a room at the end of the corridor.Rowan sat opposite his friend as the guard exited.The two stared at each other in silence until Rowan finally spoke.

"Did you do it?" he asked in a hushed whisper.Kento looked away, and Rowan felt his stomach drop as he banged his head on the table.

"How could you do that to us?" he screamed."What were you thinking?"

A lone tear made its way down Kento's face.

"I was thinking…" the burly man hesitated as he stared into his hands."I was thinking I wanted to die."Rowan opened his mouth to retaliate but found himself at a loss of words.He stared dumbly as Kento continued.

"I was reading this book once.Somewhere it said 'Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage'.I think it means that no matter where you are, whether you be in a prison or maybe even trapped at some board meeting, your soul is still free.Not mine.

"I'm feeling suffocated, Rowan.I don't know if you realize this, but I always felt like the fifth wheel.You were the smart one, Ryo was the leader, Cye was the peacekeeper, and Sage was the spiritual one.You all had your places.Where was mine?"

"You had- have a place, Kento."

"Yeah," Kento scoffed, "the lummox.The fool.All brawn and no brain, that's me."

"We never said that--"

"You didn't have to!I could see it in your eyes.Whenever I said I was hungry, or if I botched a seemingly simple task.There goes fat dumb Kento, tripping over his own two feet."

"I still don't understand."

"How could you?You were never anyone's comic relief, the private joke.You know that old rhyme 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me'?Lies.Words hurt, Rowan.More than I think you realize.

"I went through high school hearing people call me fat, klutzy, stupid, and after four years of listening, I began to believe it.I believed it, but I didn't want to live it.

"You heard I tried to go through collage, right?You probably heard that I dropped out.The truth is, I was expelled.Brought a gun on campus.I intended on shooting my self in a bathroom, but I didn't make it that far.I was too cowardly and afraid to do it myself.

"I went to China to see if I could get my life sorted out.Instead, I met this guy Maehashi, and his brother.Gang leaders, you see.I figured, join a gang, die eventually, so I became a part of their group.

"In the beginning, things were fine.Everyone was getting along.But then things between me and Tamakia, that's Maehashi's brother, they began to heat up.A few missed 'appointments' and a few mistaken identities put the two of us on edge.One thing led to another and before I knew it, we were dueling."

"Dueling?"

"Fighting to the death.Needless to say, I won.And now I'm here."

"Is there any chance of court?"

"Why?I confessed.And now I'm on death row."

"Doesn't it scare you?To know that you'll never think another thought, never breath another breath, never see another day?"

"Yes, Rowan, it does scare me.But it's also reassuring because this is what I want."

"Obviously it isn't, or you would have done it yourself."

"Doesn't matter now."

"No, I guess it doesn't."Rowan rubbed his chin."Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"What did you say to Cye?"

"Why?"

"When I left he was repainting the walls."Kento paused.

"I asked him if he could cook my last meal."Rowan wrinkled his forehead in disgust.

"You are one sick bastard."

#####

A/N: This part was a little shorter that last time, but there was a lot of dialog in this one, and that's hard to do.Plus, the Pit has been working double time to keep up with all it's writings and promises and such, so I kinda rushed this chapter.Next part will be longer.I promise.

-MoshPit


	3. Freedom

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

MoshPit

It was an ironically bright day. The soft spring sun caressed the backs of two dejected young men as they passed between the tombstones.

"It was a nice service," Rowen said. Sage just nodded, eyes fixed to the ground. "Is someone giving Cye a ride home?" he asked, remembering the way the small ronin had broken down.

"Ryo," the blonde ronin said, and nothing more. A heavy silence hung between them. The two walked on, not a word passing between them, until Sage, overcome with grief, collapsed on one of the markers.

"Why did he do it, Rowen?" he cried, body shaking between sobs. "Why wouldn't he let us help him?" Rowen sat down beside his friend.

"I remember," he said, rubbing Sage's back, " when we went to see him that first time, he said something to me. He said he felt trapped, abused."

"By who?"

"By _us_." He ignored Sage's accusing, shocked stare and continued. "We took him for granted. Don't look at me that way; we did, and he saw. He was the muscle, and that's all anyone saw him as. It hurt him, to be taunted that way, it hurt him more deeply than we could ever know.

"We trapped him in this world of hurt and lies and he just needed to break free." Rowen drew Sage into a comforting hug, and looked up at the soft morning sun. "You're free know, Kento. You're free."

~&~&~&~&~&~

Short little chapter, I know, but I just needed something to finish this up so's I could move on to other things. I hope you enjoyed it!

~~~MoshPit 


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